A protester holds a sign in front of Israeli President Moshe Katsav's official residence in Jerusalem, Monday, Oct. 16, 2006. Succumbing to intense pressure, President Moshe Katsav on Monday canceled his attendance at the opening ceremony of the winter session of parliament after police recommended he be indicted on rape charges. The Hebrew on the sign reads "Moshe Katsav, you disgrace the institution of the presidency." (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) less

A protester holds a sign in front of Israeli President Moshe Katsav's official residence in Jerusalem, Monday, Oct. 16, 2006. Succumbing to intense pressure, President Moshe Katsav on Monday canceled his ... more

Photo: EMILIO MORENATTI

Photo: EMILIO MORENATTI

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A protester holds a sign in front of Israeli President Moshe Katsav's official residence in Jerusalem, Monday, Oct. 16, 2006. Succumbing to intense pressure, President Moshe Katsav on Monday canceled his attendance at the opening ceremony of the winter session of parliament after police recommended he be indicted on rape charges. The Hebrew on the sign reads "Moshe Katsav, you disgrace the institution of the presidency." (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) less

A protester holds a sign in front of Israeli President Moshe Katsav's official residence in Jerusalem, Monday, Oct. 16, 2006. Succumbing to intense pressure, President Moshe Katsav on Monday canceled his ... more

2006-10-17 04:00:00 PDT Jerusalem -- Israel's president, dogged by rape allegations and calls to step down, sat out the opening of parliament's winter session Monday after police recommended that he be indicted.

Some members of parliament had threatened to boycott or stay in their seats if President Moshe Katsav took part in the opening-day ceremonies. It is customary for lawmakers to rise as the president, whose post is largely ceremonial, takes his place in the gallery seats reserved for dignitaries.

Katsav, who has denied the charges, had insisted he would attend. However, he decided to skip the session after police recommended Sunday that prosecutors indict him for rape and other sexual misconduct charges involving former female employees.

Investigators also recommended to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz that Katsav be charged with tapping the telephones of staff members and using public funds to buy gifts.

Mazuz is expected to make a decision on whether to issue an indictment in two or three weeks. The various allegations carry prison terms ranging from 3 to 16 years.

The police recommendations gave new energy to a scandal that has kept Katsav as front-page news and the butt of Israeli satire for months after a former employee in the president's office accused him of forcing her to have sex.

Other women who formerly worked for Katsav stepped forward with allegations of sexual harassment, though police recommended a rape charge in only one other case, that of a former staffer when Katsav was Israel's tourism minister.

Katsav, 60, a longtime member of the conservative Likud party with a drab but relatively clean image, says the charges were part of an attempt to blackmail him. He has accused political rivals of seeking to undermine him.

Pundits say the damage has been done and that Katsav, whose job largely is to project the nation's honor at home and abroad, has little choice but to step down. In Israel, political power rests in the hands of the prime minister.

"The man Moshe Katsav is innocent as long as it has not been proven otherwise. But the man is one thing and the president another," columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in Monday's editions of the daily Yediot Ahronot newspaper. "President Moshe Katsav cannot continue in his position much longer."

The president's lawyer said Katsav probably would resign if formally indicted.

"If an indictment is presented, then the president will not try to close any deals with the justice department," the attorney, Zion Amir, told Israel Radio. "He will reach his conclusions and probably resign. There is no other choice."

Katsav's brother, Lior, on Monday accused police of shoddy work and bias, saying the female accusers came forward only under pressure from police and Israeli journalists.

The case has deepened a feeling among many Israelis of disdain toward their politicians, whom they typically view as corrupt and self-interested. Katsav's predecessor, Ezer Weizman, resigned in 2000 amid a personal financial scandal, though he was never charged. Weizman died last year.

Katsav has largely gone about his duties despite the allegations, which surfaced in July. However, he sat out the swearing-in of the new president of Israel's Supreme Court last month because of the controversy.

Under Israeli law, a sitting president cannot be tried, meaning that Katsav could not be put on trial unless he steps down, is removed from office or finishes his term, which ends next year.

Katsav, who was born in Iran, was elected to the Israeli parliament in 1977, when Likud first came to power.

He later held several ministerial posts, including ministers of tourism, transportation, and labor and social welfare. He was elected president by the parliament in an upset in 2000.